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Halloween

July 08, 2014

Wow! The fall decorations are already in the stores, so it's time to start fall crafting and that means Halloween is just around the corner! This cool rib cage skeleton pop-up card from the book Playing with Pop-ups:The Art of Dimensional, Moving Paper Designsis the perfect paper craft to work on during a hot summer day sitting in the air conditioning dreaming of crisp, cool autumn.

Pull-Tab Rib Cage

Artist Yoojin Kim translates forms found in human anatomy into pop-ups. She is captivated by the overlapping qualities that exist between the function of pop-ups and how a human body works. Pivots and levers resemble the movements of human tendons and joints and the way that muscles move. This project features an adaptation of the pull-tab cylinder technique. As the spread is opened, a strap pulls the tab to raise the rib cage from the flat surface.

Rib Cage Trivia

Here’s an interesting fact about the human rib cage: When the Flemish anatomist Vesalius noted in 1543 that humans have twenty-four ribs (twelve on each side), he set off a wave of controversy. It had been assumed from the Biblical story of Adam and Eve that men’s ribs would number one less than women’s. Variations in the number of ribs do occur, and about one in two hundred to five hundred people have an additional cervical rib; these extra ribholders are predominantly female.

I photocopied a dictionary page onto card stock to create a background for my rib cage. You can use a plain card stock, purchase a printed card stock, illustrate the background, or make a collage to accent the ribs.

Once you’ve got your papers, Download the patterns for the base card and rib cage and print them onto your prepared card stock.

Step 2: Cut and score

Cut out the card base, the two rib cage side pieces, and the rib cage using a craft knife. Cut the three slits in the card base. Score along the central dotted line on the card base and valleyfold it in half. Score along the dashed lines on the two rib cage side pieces and mountain-fold each one along those lines.

Step 3: Glue the side pieces

Glue the inside of both folded rib cage side pieces, gluing both sides of the fold and sandwiching the matching sides of the rib cage into the glued areas.

Step 4: Thread strap and mount rib cage

Thread the strap through the righthand slit in the card base from front to back and then thread it back into the card through the slit along the dotted line. Carefully lift the left side of the rib cage and apply glue to the back side of the rib cage side piece. Attach it to the base along the dotted line, taking care not to get glue on the strap.

Step 5: Assemble

Tuck the loose end of the strap into the slit on the left side of the base while folding the base page in half. Close the card completely, fold the end of the strap over, and glue it to the card base. Let the glue dry briefly. Open the card and watch your rib cage slide into three dimensions!

Downloadthe templates and start cutting! I can't wait to make these rib cage pop-up cards for all my ghoulish friends for Halloween!

Enter the enchanting world of pop-ups and handmade paper crafts. Join author Helen Hiebert as she guides you through materials, tools and pop-up basics including parallel folds, angle folds, combinations and variations, and layered pop-ups. Enjoy creating 20 projects to play with ranging from cards and books to buildings, graphic design pieces, and more. Featuring a high-end gallery of artists, whose beautiful work will inspire you to make your own amazing paper art, Playing with Pop-Ups will teach you to create interactive pieces that everyone will enjoy.

Helen Hiebert is a Colorado artist who constructs installations, sculptures, films and artist books using handmade paper, thread and light to create transcendent experiences that alter viewers’ perceptions of time, space and form. She teaches and lectures about papermaking and lamp-making internationally, and has served as an adjunct faculty member at Oregon College of Art & Craft and Pacific University. Helen exhibits her work internationally, she is author of the books Papermaking with Plants, The Papermaker's Companion, and Paper Illuminated, Playing With Paper, and she is a regular contributor to Hand Papermaking Newsletter. Helen has an extensive network of paper colleagues around the world and her interest in how things are made (from paper) keeps her up-to-date on current paper trends.

June 16, 2014

To kick off this week I thought I'd share some of the art from the new book 1000 Dog Portraits:From the People Who Love Them. It features such a cool variety. One piece plays with scale and one is a simple doodle on the last last piece of toilet paper left on a roll.

"Some of our greatest historical and artistic treasures we place with curators in museums; others we take for walks." - Roger A. Caras, Animal Welfare Activist

1000 Dog Portraits is a compilation of quirky, fun, fanatical illustrations, paintings, collages and drawings from designers and artists around the globe. From hounds to herding dogs, and mutts to terriers, there is a diverse range of artistic renditions from naïve and abstract to traditional portraiture.

Artist and designer Robynne Raye curates this collection that is a study guide on style for the budding artist as well as a book of inspiration to the practicing professional. There's even a chapter called, "How Many Ways Can You Draw A Beagle?" showing the myriad of ways an artist can depict a single breed of dog.

So rev up your illustration muscle and be inspired by this loving tribute to man's best friend.

Knit a hat for someone, and you'll keep their head warm. Give the hat googly eyes, floppy ears, or a prehensile tail, and you will give them and everyone they meet something to giggle about.

Do you know someone who could use a beyond-cute hat that resembles their favorite animal or character? Fun and Fantastical Hats to Knit adds a little fun to cold-weather wear. It doesn't have to be cold out for you to sport some fuzzy cuteness! You can have these amazing and easy-to-knit styles year-round! The twenty-one knit hats in this book are designed in sizes to fit everyone from babies to adults and are knit in-the-round with lots of amazing details!

Feeling a bit bonkers? Time to knit up a Tea Party topper or sport your new Rabble of Butterflies hat. Geek out with Architeuthis, Gargoyle, or Mercury hats; express your culinary inclinations with California Roll or Cherry Pie bring out your wild side with a Blue Crab cap, Frilly the frilled lizard, Baldy the eagle, or a Hedgehog helmet! Find all of these and more inside Fun and Fantastical Hats to Knit.

Mary Scott Huff, author of Fantastical Hats to Knit (CPi, 2014) began as a classically trained actor and theatrical costume designer, but accidentally became a computer programmer somewhere along the way. In writing her first two books, The New Stranded Colorwork, and Teach Yourself Visually Color Knitting, Mary fled the realm of Information Technology to pursue a more yarn-centered way of life. The many friends she found along the way have helped her become a nationally-recognized designer, teacher and author. A native of the Pacific Northwest, Mary shares a wee little house there with her husband, two children, some Scottish Terriers, and more yarn than is strictly necessary. You can join Mary on her adventures playing with string at www.maryscotthuff.com

Mary Scott Huff lives in Fairview, Oregon, and teaches knitting all over the United States. Mary designs knitwear, writes books, blogs, and generally pursues a yarn-centered existence, in a little red house shared with her husband, two children, and two Scottish Terriers. This is her third book.

Baby Knits from Around the World showcases 20 designs by well-known artisans hailing from classic knitting traditions in Scandinavia, Ireland, Scotland, England, the Baltics, Europe, South America, and North America. The book includes detailed instructions for ever-popular baby hats, blankets, sweaters, booties, pants, dresses, toys, and mitts; while introductions to each pattern detail the history of the technique that the design employs. With over 100 gorgeous photos and diagrams throughout, knitters of all proficiency levels are sure to enjoy Kari Cornell’s hand-picked collection of baby knitting projects.

Kari Cornell is a freelance writer and editor who lives in South Minneapolis with her husband and two young boys. When she’s not working or spending time with her family, she loves to cook, tinker in the garden, knit, or run. She feels fortunate that she’s been able to combine many of the activities she likes to do in her free time with her day job. Cornell is the editor of a number of books published by Voyageur Press, including For the Love of Knitting, Modern Knits, Vintage Style, and Knitting Socks from Around the World.

October 31, 2013

In honor of Halloween, I thought I'd share this wonderful leather skull purse by Masaya Kushino featured in the new book Art of the Handbag: Crazy Beautiful Bags. I hope you have a stylish and creative Halloween all!

“I find that it is vital to have at least one handbag for each of the ten types of social occasions.”

—Miss Piggy

Most
women would agree with Miss Piggy—and even those who didn’t would think
one bag for all occasions isn’t really enough. Ever since the reticule
came into style after the French Revolution, women have been attached to
their handbags. And whether you’re a woman of leisure who wants a tiny
bag to carry a lipstick, comb, and mirror or a working woman who needs a
satchel to hold your cell phone, e-reader, laptop, water bottle,
makeup, lunch, and whatever else you need in the course of a long day,
you’re sure to be enchanted by the variety of bags featured in this
lavishly illustrated book. A wonderful range of bags is presented--from
Judith Leiber’s sculpted, crystal-studded metal “minaudières” to James
Piatt’s “Peacekeeper” handbag with its knuckleduster handle, from Lulu
Guinness’s red snakeskin “Lips” clutch to Hester van Eeghen’s elegant
“Monocle” bag, from Kathleen Dustin’s exquisite “Rose Bud” wrist purse
to Inés Figaredo’s retro “Telephone” shoulder bag.

It’s a showcase
gallery of 25 contemporary handbag designers, and it features over 100
artful creations. The crazy beautiful bags in this book provide perfect
accents for every wardrobe.

Clare Anthony has edited several books on fashion and is the author of Shoegasm: An Explosion of Cutting-Edge Design. She has also written on a variety of other subjects for both adults and children.